An automatic analyzer and a sample treatment apparatus are commonly provided with a sample dispensing mechanism, which is used to transfer a sample contained in a vessel to a different vessel for the purposes of analysis and pretreatment. Such a sample dispensing mechanism is required to dispense the desired amount of a sample accurately and at high speed. Also, due to a growing demand in recent years to reduce costs associated with clinical inspection, the amount of a reagent used per analysis now needs to be reduced. Because a reduced reagent amount inevitably leads to a decrease in the amount of a sample used per analysis, dispensing mechanisms are now required to accurately dispense even single-digit microliter volumes of samples.
Various inventions have been disclosed that allow small-quantity dispensing. For example, exploiting the knowledge that the sway of a sample inside a nozzle affects dispensing accuracy, (Patent Document 1) discloses a technique in which a discharge operation is performed after the sample' sway inside the nozzle has subsided.
Prior Art Literature
Patent Document
Patent Document 1: JP-2007-316011-A